Dry, flakey, oily horse!! What can help?

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LouiseG

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My horse over the past month has developed really flaky skin, when I take his rugs off he has mega dandruff but his coat feels quite oily coat! It's brushed away quite easily, but the next day it has returned. He's had quite a traumatic winter, he had stifle surgery in December but has recovered well, although the GA and box rest will have taken it's toll on him. He is back out in the field now. Is there anything I can try to help his skin? Supplement or shampoo?! He normally has a lovely, shiny, glossy coat. He's fed Topspec Lite Balancer and Topspec top chop lite. He is getting Restore added to his feed as well as his Cosequin. I bathed him last weekend and this made no difference.

Thanks in advance
 
Top Chop is alfalfa I think, mine has a reaction to alfalfa though it may not be the case with yours. You could definitely help by feeding him micronised linseed or even some vegetable oil and getting his rugs off now if he's unclipped.
 
I notice this quite often at this time of year when the coats change. Its also the time the manes rub and knot up. I always presume its build up of sweat and dirt under the rugs all winter (the rugs are yukky by now too). A good bath usually sorts it out with ours, but their coats are shiny under all the scurf.
 
Is Linseed likely to pile on the weight? My horse is a VERY good doer and I have to watch his diet like a hawk. He's out of work too just now. He's been on the Top Chop for about 6 months now so I dont think it's that. Once he's had a good brush the surface of his coat is lovely again, but if I then give his coat a scratch the dandruff surfaces again. If I part the hairs his actual skin looks flakey. Thanks for your replies!
 
I used to own a pony who became very itchy when he was loosing his winter coat like yours dry flaky skin I tried everything changed his feed as he was on alfa oil which made him scratch like crazy to the point he would be bald in places he was fine as soon as I took him off the alfa oil and put him on ready grass and added linseed oil to his feed If bathing a lot will strip his natural oils from his coat which won't help made my boy worse good luck hope you get him sorted soon :-)
 
I feed micronised linseed to my good doers. I have 1 that came to me last year with a very poor coat. He was scurvy and itchy and dotted with scabs and huge flakes of dandruff. All mine get a scoop a day ( a round blue scoop found in most supplement tubs) and all have very healthy looking coats coming into spring and no sign of itching even by my 2 sweet itch sufferers.
If you are worried about weight then just reduce the chop a little :)
 
Iv used flax oil from flax farms this year instead of micronised and have lovely shiny neds. However they also get minerals balanced to my grazing and Vit E which is missing from winter grass and hay and responsible for a lot of skin health functions.
 
My horse normally gets a very dull, scurfy, oily coat at this time of year. He has been having turmeric in his feed for the last 3 months to help his arthritis. His coat is absolutely fab this year, no scurf and lovely and shiny :)
 
Bertolie said:
My horse normally gets a very dull, scurfy, oily coat at this time of year. He has been having turmeric in his feed for the last 3 months to help his arthritis. His coat is absolutely fab this year, no scurf and lovely and shiny :)
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Just out of curiosity, how much Turmeric do you feed your horse and where do you get it from? this is something I have been thinking of feeding to help with his stifles.
 
I feed approx 20g per day mixed with a little olive oil and 6-8 grinds of pepper. The oil and pepper are needed to help absorb the turmeric. I buy mine from Progressive Earth on ebay but you can get it from asian supermarkets cheaper.

ETA I mix the turmeric into a paste with the oil, pepper and a small amount of warm water and then add to his feed.
 
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